The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Network Contracting Office 5, is issuing this Sources Sought Notice to identify potential qualified vendors that are interested in and capable of performing this requirement. The Hershel Woody Williams VA Medical Center located at 1540 Spring Valley Drive Huntington, WV 25704 has a need for Legionella Sampling Services and a Water Safety Management Plan. STATEMENT OF WORK GENERAL INFORMATION Introduction: The Hershel Woody Williams VAMC located at 1540 Spring Valley Drive, Huntington, WV, 25704, provides care to more than 28,000 Veterans in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Safety is paramount to providing care for our Veterans. The medical center has a need for a water safety management program with environmental water testing. Background: This procurement will establish the formation of a base plus four option year, firm-fixed price contract for the Hershel Woody Williams VAMC in Huntington (VAMC). The contract will require a water safety management plan and environmental water testing necessary to meet the requirements of VHA Directive 1061 Prevention of Health Care Associated Legionella Disease and Scald Injury from Water Systems . Scope of Work: The vendor will provide all containers, labor, equipment, material, and supervision to perform the work as listed in the work requirements (section 2-work requirements) below. Certifications necessary: The vendor will provide documentation certifying the following: Proof of CDC-ELITE certification for Legionella testing from a culture-based method, such as ISO 11731 Spread Plate Method. Currently, VHA adheres to the CDC recommendation of a 1-liter water sample per test; therefore, the laboratory must be able to test for Legionella using this sample size. WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VENDOR Water Testing Water testing for microbiological characteristics in compliance with VHA Directives and the Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA) for hot and cold potable and non-potable water systems. Testing shall be done quarterly in the first month of each quarter (January, April, July, and October). Water collection, packaging, and shipping are the responsibility of the vendor. Water samples from at least ten (10) outlets on the hot water distribution system and ten (10) outlets on the cold-water distribution system of each building that has overnight stays will be tested. This is currently three buildings. At least 2 samples from each building must be from a pure cold source and at least 2 samples from each building must be from a pure hot source, if available. As a hospital, there are occasions when isolation of the public from patients is necessary (For example, flu, MRSA, Covid-19, etc.). The vendor will not be allowed to go into any patient room/area occupied by a patient(s) that is in any type of contact or isolation precautions. At the time of sampling, the following must be documented for each sample: water temperature, level of residual biocide, and pH. All samples must be properly preserved as required by the laboratory and approved testing method used. The laboratory shall use Legionella 11731 ISO spread plate method for Legionella pneumophilia and non-pneumophilia species (by L. pneumophilia serogroup 1, L. pneumophilia serogroup 2-14, and non-pneumophilia) or the metho currently being specified in VHA Directive 1061 Appendix C. The laboratory will provide a report indicating the analytical results for each sample submitted with results calculated in terms of colony forming units (CFU/ml). Test results shall be submitted quarterly in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format within 10-14 days of sample receipt via email to the facility point of contact. The spreadsheet shall include the following: Building number, sample ID number, sample date, reason for sample, floor, room number, occupancy, sample source, sample type, sample volume, water temperature, biocide type, biocide level, pH, name of person taking sample, date sent to lab, was PRC screen option chosen, was legionella detected, date of culture result, name of lab, lab sample number, and was sample stored for molecular typing. Presumptive Positive results must be called to the Program Office Point of Contact of the contract immediately and submitted in PDF format via email. Repeat testing will be scheduled by the Program Office Point of Contact for any positive result and shall be scheduled by the Program Office Point of Contact after remediation has occurred. Testing will include the original location and one upstream and one downstream location. Management Plan Perform an onsite walk-through of hot and cold potable and non-potable water systems for the purposes of: Confirming and further developing the water inventory system Photographing the water system Reviewing the operational, maintenance, and other practices related to the water systems Auditing the facility s current water management program and providing recommendations for improvement. Recommendations will be feasible. Developing hazard assessments (risk assessments) for each building of the facility complete with recommendations for remediations and timelines to implementation of remediations to decrease the risk. Risk to patients in conjunction with Legionella disease Risk to patients regarding scald injury Develop recommendations for: Inspection and maintenance intervals/changes Equipment design and upgrade Recordkeeping requirements/improvements Training opportunities Identify infrastructure improvement projects needed to eliminate or reduce the hazards related to growth of Legionella. Projects should include pipe replacement, water monitoring sensors, elimination of dead legs, etc. Projects should include scope and budget estimates and correlate to a recommendation or risk outlined in the plan. The contractor shall maintain on-going communication with the facility throughout plan development. The contractor shall make themselves available for no more than one water safety committee meeting per year (Teams is acceptable). The water safety management plan will be based on the principles and requirements outlined in the Statement of Work, VHA Directive 1061, and the following: ASHRAE Guideline 12-2000, Standard Minimizing the Risk of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems for Legionella (reference CDC website) http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/about/prevention.html OSHA Technical Manual Section III: Chapter 7 (https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iii/otm_iii_7.html) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm) CTI Guidelines WTB-148, Legionellosis Guideline: Best practices for Control of Legionella (http://www.cti.org/downloads/WTP-148.pdf) Joint Commission Environment of Cares Standards CMS Requirements to Reduce Legionella Risk in HealthCare Facility Water Systems to Prevent cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease (LD) ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188 Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MEDICAL CENTER Providing the name and contact information of the liaison for the vendor to the water safety committee to the vendor. Currently this will be the Program Office Point of Contact. Determining the number of tests required for each building. Identification of the areas to be collected for testing. This can be done each quarter or through a master spreadsheet provided to the vendor at the award of the contract. This also includes identification of the upstream and downstream locations when positives are identified. Review, discuss, and ensuring understanding of the water management plan. Providing standard operating procedures (SOPs), schematics, and other documents necessary for the development of a comprehensive water safety management plan. Provide the properly formatted Microsoft Excel template to the vendor for documentation of results. Providing updates to the facility s water system through construction to the vendor. Remediation for any locations that have positive results. Scheduling sampling days with the vendor. SUPPORTING INFORMATION Place of performance: The medical center is located at 1540 Spring Valley Drive, Huntington, WV 25704. Samples will be collected from the Fisher House (located at the bottom of the hill), the RRTP (located on the point at the top of the hill), and floors 4 and 5 of the main medical center. The vendor will check-in to the maintenance and operations shop, Building 2, to obtain a vendor badge prior to going through he medical center for sample collection. Period of Performance: Contract is for a base plus four option year contract. Base year: December 1, 2025 November 30, 2026. Option year 1: December 1, 2026 November 30, 2027. Option year 2: December 1, 2027 November 30, 2028. Option year 3: December 1, 2028 November 30, 2029. Option year 4: December 1, 2029 November 30, 2030. The VAMC recognizes eleven (11) Federal holidays where the vendor will not be permitted to schedule water sample collection. Recognized Federal holidays are: New Years Day, Martin Luther King s Birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran s Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Federal holidays because of a Presidential proclamation are not considered Federal holidays for this contract if the water sampling has already been scheduled for that day. Data and Photographs: All data collected and information developed in any format shall be considered sensitive and shall be deemed confidential property of the VA. Nondisclosure of information specified within this scope and all related information, plans, research, and technologies shall be enforced. Photographs taken on medical center property shall not have medical personnel or patients in the frame. Photographs are considered data and shall not be published, disseminated, or used by the vendor for publicity or future contract bids. Pricing and invoicing: Invoices will be submitted monthly and paid in arrears. Each invoice must include the date of service. The vendor will only charge for the number of samples collected and tested. The vendor will provide a firm fixed price (monthly) for the water management program. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Supervision/Communications. During the performance, the vendor shall be available by phone or email. The Program Office Point of Contact is responsible for the inspection of the work called for in this job. The Program Office Point of Contact will be identified in the task order by name, telephone number and location. Inspections made by the Program Office Point of Contact are for the sole benefit of the Government and do not relieve the Contractor of any quality control responsibilities. The Program Office Point of Contact for this contract is J.D. Douglas. JD.Douglas@va.gov Changes to the person serving as the Program Office Point of Contact will be submitted to the vendor and the Contracting Officer as soon as they are known. Contractor Furnished Materials: The vendor shall supply all supplies for collection, packaging, and shipping to conduct work as listed in the Statement of Work above. The vendor representative is required to wear a uniform that identifies the person as an employee of the vendor and a badge that clearly states the employee s name. A picture badge is preferred. The Certification and Accreditation (C&A) requirements do not apply, and a security accreditation package is not required. This acquisition does not involve the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information. It does not require a C&A or MOU-ISA for system interconnection. The facility owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which the facility shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20. All medical center properties and locations are smoke/vape-free. In the event the services are not furnished and the medical center must obtain services from another source, the medical center reserves the right to charge the vendor for these services. Interested & Capable Responses: NCO 5 is seeking responses from entities that are interested in this procurement and consider themselves to have the resources, capabilities, and qualifications necessary to provide the services required for the Hershel Woody Williams VAMC. Please respond to this RFI/Sources Sought 36C24526Q0003 with your: 1. Business name (including Unique Entity ID (SAM.gov) 2. Business type, socio-economic status (e.g., Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), etc.), and 3. Person of contact (including telephone number & email address). 4. Capability statement and summary of previous experience providing these types of services for the Veterans Health Administration or other similar facilities. 5. Available contract vehicles (GSA FSS, etc.) for use by Department of VA (include applicable NAICS) 6. Brief Summary of categories of services that your company can/cannot provide. 7. Certification(s) / Licenses for meeting the local requirements to provide these services at the DC VAMC (if applicable) 8. Confirmation that your organization has the capability & expertise to meet the performance requirements while complying with applicable limitations in subcontracting by responding to the questions below with your response: a. Do you intend to self-perform this effort? b. If you are located outside the immediate area, how will you self-perform? c. Or do you intend to subcontract work under this contract? d. If you intend to subcontract work under this contract, how will you ensure compliance with the limitations on subcontracting? Please note that if incomplete responses are received. Lack of documentation proving your business can conduct the services being offered or all questions not being answered within this notice, your response will not be taken into consideration. CONTACT INFORMATION AND RESPONSE DUE DATE: Please email all responses to Patricia.Thai@va.gov (Contract Specialist) and William.Galletta@va.gov (Contracting Officer) no later than 08-18-2025, 3:00 PM EST. This request for information/sources sought notice is for planning purposes ONLY and does not constitute a solicitation, responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The results of this market research will assist in the development of (1) the requirement, and (2) the acquisition strategy (e.g., SDVOSB/SDVOSB set-aside, small business set-aside, full and open competition, etc.). VA assumes no responsibility for any costs incurred as a result of a vendor s attendance to the Site-Visit nor the preparation of responses submitted as a result of this notice
